ECONOMIC IMPACT OF HAFB IN '88 WAS GREATER THAN EVER

The economic impact of Hill Air Force Base for 1988 was $1.98 billion, with at least one job created off-base for every civilian and serviceman employed on the base, according to an economic resource impact statement.

Despite a decline in the total dollar amount of contracts awarded by Hill, Utah firms are increasing the amount of contracts they are winning, meaning the economic impact of the base is greater now than in past years, the report said.The base employs 19,504 people. A research model developed by the Oakridge National Laboratory estimates that an additional 19,994 people are employed in secondary jobs off-base as a result of the money spent by the Air Force at Hill.

Of those jobs, an estimated 12,680 are in Box Elder, Davis, Morgan, Salt Lake, Tooele and Weber counties and another 7,314 are outside the Wasatch Front or are in other states, the report said.

The Hill payroll totals $573.8 million annually, and an additional $398.7 million is paid in retirement salaries. The 1988 salaries were $12.4 million less than the 1987 payroll, reflecting cutbacks in military and civilian positions, the report says.

The military also purchases significant quantities of services and materials from the area, ranging from missile parts to food for the base commissary.

Hill procurements cost $1.5 billion in 1988, down from $1.8 billion in 1987 and $2.1 billion in 1985. Of the total contracts awarded in 1988, 10.6 percent, or $163.3 million, went to Utah firms.

The dollar amount of contracts awarded to Utah businesses has steadily increased since 1984, when Utah firms won $97.8 million of the total procurement.